The Importance of Biological Principles in Dentistry

Today, I want to talk about God and dentistry. What does God have to do with dentistry? Have you ever done surgery on a cadaver and then returned a few weeks later to see if the surgery healed? It never does, because the body is not alive.

I’ve performed a lot of surgeries recently—yesterday, five weeks ago, and about two months ago. I'm not with those patients right now, but they’re still healing. What’s causing them to heal? It's not me—because I’m a good surgeon. It’s something greater than me. You can call it God, spirituality, or nature. It's all the same thing. But it’s not us. It’s not me, as a human being, putting that wound together. It’s something beyond that. It’s God's rules.

Why Am I Bringing Up God?

You might wonder why I’m bringing up God. The reason is that patients today are in a rush. Everyone is in a hurry. We live in a very fast-paced society where attention spans are short, and everything is moving at lightning speed. New graduates from dental school today often don’t realize that many brilliant minds came before them. They don’t recognize the work of Leonardo da Vinci, Napoleon, Louis Pasteur, or Brandon Mart. These people laid the groundwork for the practices we follow today.

In fact, many of my colleagues don’t even attend lectures anymore. They just scroll through Instagram, thinking they’ll learn something new. Often, they’re learning from someone who’s only been out of school for a year or two. I recall one instance where a young guy from Redondo Beach, California, came up to me after a lecture. He said, “I can’t believe you can grow bone like that. I thought that was a zygomatic case!” The techniques I showed have been in practice for 30 or 40 years, but now everyone is talking about other procedures and trends. People want faster, faster, faster.

The Pressure to Rush

Patients are pushing us to speed things up. If you turn on the TV today, you’ll see countless advertisements for pharmaceuticals. The United States is the only country in the world where pharmaceutical companies can advertise directly to consumers. This leads to patients coming in and asking for specific treatments because they saw it on TV. They say things like, “I saw an ad where people had their teeth removed and implants placed the same day.” Yes, I can do that, but it’s not always the right approach for every patient.

My typical procedure when a patient comes to my practice involves removing a tooth, performing a bone graft, waiting three to four months, placing an implant, waiting another three months, uncovering the implant, waiting one more month, placing a provisional, and then waiting another three months before finalizing the treatment. It’s a lot of steps, but I do it consistently with great results.

The Slow Approach: Why It Works

I may be slower than most dentists, but my results are consistent because I follow the biological rules. I always tell my patients that I’m probably the most experienced, yet slowest implant dentist in the United States. But I don’t mind being slow, as it allows me to focus on quality. There’s a reason I’m booked up four months in advance, without any advertising: I’ve built a reputation for following the biological rules.

I recall once giving a lecture at the Oral Surgery Academy's Implant Academy in Chicago. After finishing my talk early, I turned to the oral surgeons in the audience and said, “Some of you may be doing large cases and rushing through procedures, but when a patient asks me, 'Why can’t you do it faster?' I look them in the eye and tell them, 'I wish I could, but I can’t.'”

They then ask, “Why can’t you?” and I reply, “Because it’s not up to me.” When I say that, they often respond with a look of understanding. I explain, “It’s not my rules; it’s God’s rules. These are biological rules.”

Why We Can’t Rush Biological Healing

Too often, I see colleagues rushing through procedures just to meet patient demands. They’re willing to cut corners to avoid losing a patient. But I refuse to compromise on the quality of care I provide. If I do things the wrong way, the results will suffer. My priority is doing things the right way, even if it takes more time.

I’ve spoken with other colleagues about their approach to immediate implants, and I’ve asked them if they notice bone loss or soft tissue loss around the implants. They admit that it happens. I then ask, “Why not slow down and do it the right way?” Their response is often, “If I don’t do it quickly, someone else will.”

But that’s not my concern. My concern is doing the right thing, even if it means it takes longer. The right way is the biological way.

The Power of Patience and Integrity

It’s not always easy to do the right thing, but it’s always worth it. If it were easy, everyone would do it. But by following biological principles and taking the time to do things properly, you’ll practice with integrity. Your patients will trust you, and they’ll keep coming back—along with their friends and family.

Remember, it’s not our rules. It’s biological rules. If you want to use the concept of God’s rules, feel free to do so. It can be a gift to your practice and your patients.